Inaugural Alumni Speaker Series to feature globe-trotting alumna

Cheri Crothers will be the inaugural alumna of the new Alumni Speaker Series, set to debut Wednesday, October 10, at 3:30 p.m. in E156 Student Union.

“I wanted to start the alumni speaker series to showcase our interesting and prominent alumni to our students, faculty and staff,” said Greg Scharer, executive director of alumni relations. “I’m hoping students can look at the alumni who come back to campus and draw inspiration from their stories and how Wright State impacted their lives.”

Crothers graduated from Wright State in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She was a founding member of Wright State’s first Model United Nations team, representing Japan, the USSR, UK, USA, and Italy in competition. Crothers and her teammates earned outstanding delegate awards each year from 1969 to 1973.

“Model UN really gave me insight on international organizations and taught me how to be diplomatic” said Crothers. “It really helped me understand how different cultures think and how other governments function.”

Crothers has lived in many places around the world in the past 38 years, including Iran, Pakistan, most of the former Soviet Union states, South Korea, Guam, the Netherlands and all across the United States. She remembers horrific experiences like seeing a woman set on fire in a public square overseas or the tension she experienced just before the American embassy was taken in Iran.

She has been involved with the American expatriate community in a variety of capacities including coordinating voter registration and working on political campaigns. She has taught middle and high school girls how to run for elected office and currently serves on the Women’s Issues Group (WIG) of the Clark County Democratic party.

Crothers said her time at Wright State helped prepare her for her life’s journey and provided a “really good education with the ability to talk to professors.”